Pacific Union’s August 2016 Real Estate Update

Although annual home price appreciation continued to moderate throughout much of the Bay Area as summer drew to a close, two of our second-home markets — Sonoma Valley and Lake Tahoe/Truckee — enjoyed gains of more than 20 percent. Our two most expensive markets, Silicon Valley and the Mid-Peninsula, saw prices move in the opposite direction, with the median sales price down from August 2015.

Click on the image accompanying each of our regions below for an expanded look at local real estate activity in August.

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY

The median sales price in Contra Costa County dipped to $1,160,000 in August, down slightly from July and in the same range it has been since the spring. The months’ supply of inventory (MSI) fell to 1.5, also in line with numbers recorded for most of this year.

Homes sold in an average of 23 days, two days quicker than in July, and buyers paid 99 percent of original prices.

EAST BAY

At $957,500, the median sales price in the East Bay finished August up about 13 percent from one year ago. Sellers continue to receive significant premiums, taking in 112 percent of asking prices.

The East Bay was also Pacific Union’s fastest-paced market in August, with homes selling in an average of 19 days. Supply conditions remained exceptionally tight, with the MSI at 0.6, the lowest in the Bay Area.

NAPA COUNTY

Napa County’s median sales price ended August at $615,000, not radically different from the previous two months. Buyers paid 96.4 percent of original prices, identical to numbers recorded one year ago.

More homes hit the market as summer neared its end, with the MSI rising to 3.2. Homes sold in an average of 65 days, two weeks quicker than in July.

Defining Napa County: Our real estate markets in Napa County include the cities of American Canyon, Angwin, Calistoga, Napa, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, and Yountville. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in Napa County.

SAN FRANCISCO – SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES

The median sales price for a single-family home in San Francisco dropped to $1,281,500 in August, the lowest since January. Homes took an average of 34 days to find a buyer, a slight increase from the two preceding months.

The MSI ended August at 1.6, with sellers netting 107.6 percent of asking prices.

SAN FRANCISCO – CONDOMINIUMS

Condominium sales in San Francisco slowed as summer wound down, with homes selling in an average of 50 days, the longest time on the market in the past year. The median sales price was $1,099,118, virtually unchanged from July.

Even as the pace of sales slowed, supply conditions tightened, with the MSI dropping to 1.8. Sellers took home an average of 100.7 percent of original prices, the smallest premiums recorded over the past 12 months.

SILICON VALLEY

Summer’s end also found the pace of sales slowing in our Silicon Valley region, with homes taking an average of 44 days to leave the market. The MSI stood at 1.9, down slightly from July.

At $2,500,000, the median sales price declined 9 percent from August 2015, tying its one-year low. Buyers also enjoyed the biggest discounts of 2016, with homes selling for an average of 96.6 percent of original prices.

Defining Silicon Valley: Our real estate markets in the Silicon Valley region include the cities and towns of Atherton, Los Altos (excluding county area), Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park (excluding east of U.S. 101), Palo Alto, Portola Valley, and Woodside. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in these communities.

Mid-Peninsula Subregion

The median sales price in our Mid-Peninsula subregion was down on both a monthly and yearly basis, closing out August at $1,475,000. The pace of sales remained brisk, with homes finding a buyer in an average of 22 days.

The MSI dipped slightly from July to 1.3, and sellers received 101.1 percent of original prices.

Defining the Mid-Peninsula: Our real estate markets in the Mid-Peninsula subregion include the cities of Burlingame (excluding Ingold Millsdale Industrial Center), Hillsborough, and San Mateo (excluding the North Shoreview/Dore Cavanaugh area). Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes in these communities.

SONOMA COUNTY

Sonoma County’s median sales price rose to $590,000 in August, a year-over-year increase of 9 percent. Supply conditions weren’t much changed from the previous five months, with the MSI at 1.8.

Properties sold in an average of 61 days, nearly identical to last August’s pace of sales, with buyers paying 96.6 percent of original prices.

Defining Sonoma County: Our real estate markets in Sonoma County include the cities of Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Penngrove, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, and Windsor. Sales data in the adjoining chart includes all single-family homes and farms and ranches in Sonoma County.

SONOMA VALLEY

Sonoma Valley‘s median sales price climbed to $779,500 in August, a one-year high and an annual gain of 22 percent. The MSI dropped substantially from July to 1.9.

Properties left the market in 79 days — the slowest pace of sales since January — and sold for an average of 92.5 percent of original prices.

Defining Sonoma Valley: Our real estate markets in Sonoma Valley include the cities of Glen Ellen, Kenwood, and Sonoma. Sales data in the adjoining chart refers to all residential properties – including single-family homes, condominiums, and farms and ranches – in these communities.

LAKE TAHOE/TRUCKEE – SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES

Single-family homebuyers in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region had far fewer properties to choose from than they did one year ago, with the MSI at 4.1 percent as August ended. The median sales price jumped to $746,250, an annual gain of 37 percent and a one-year high.

Single-family homes sold in an average of 86 days, with buyers paying 93.7 percent of asking prices.

LAKE TAHOE/TRUCKEE – CONDOMINIUMS

The median sales price for a condominium in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region rose to $410,000 in August, its highest level so far in 2016. The gain came in tandem with a sharp drop in supply; the MSI ended the month at 5.8, its lowest level in one year.

Units in the region sold in an average of 87 days, and buyers paid 95.4 percent of asking prices.